Reading novels again is a fantastic way to rediscover old favourites, and really remind you of why you loved reading in the first place. A lot of bloggers feel as though they don't have the time to re-read novels just for fun, but what about re-reading novels so you can finally review them? I, personally, absolutely love reading books multiple times, and sometimes it means that I can finally write that elusive review that's been missing from my archive. As it stands, I'm currently working my way through all the novels I've read before (hence all the 4 and 5 star reviews on this blog), and while I'm enjoying every minute of it, writing reviews of these books is hard work.
Writing reviews of single books you've read before is definitely easier than writing reviews of books in a series you've read before, due simply to the fact that you know how it all turns out, making it difficult to convey your emotions in a spoiler-free way. There could be installments of a series that you don't like, but at the same time, you may enjoy the series as a whole, right? So when you're reviewing these novels you don't like, you're not focusing on the book at hand, you're focusing on the series in its entirety. This isn't always a bad thing, but when you're aiming for spoiler-free reviews, it's definitely a hard task.
If you read my Top Ten Tuesday posts, you might notice that I've actually reviewed a few of my absolute favourite novels on this blog (as mentioned on the top ten posts), but when you read the review, chances are you won't be able to tell that I've actually read the novel multiple times. This is because I try and remember the feelings I experienced the very first time I read the book. I like writing reviews that are informative, but also as spoiler-free as I can make them (Harry Potter being the only exception to date), so when I start thinking about why I love the book now, I always go back to the series as a whole. Focusing on the emotions I felt after first experiencing the novel makes it easier to write the kind of review that I'm used to. It doesn't always work out, and it's still a very difficult process, but I prefer this method to writing a different kind of review for books I've read in the past.
So tell me, do you re-read books? If so, do you review them if they're missing from your archive, or do you write a review of the series as a whole, spoilers and all? Or do you have a completely different method?
